It is heartbreaking, gruesome: Bhumi Pednekar on Justice Hema Committee report

Mumbai, Feb 22 (PTI) As a woman, I feel scared, said actor Bhumi Pednekar, reacting to the Hema Committee report that exposed the harassment and sexual exploitation faced by women in the Malayalam film industry.

Speaking at the ABP Network’s Ideas of India 2025, Pednekar said the findings of the report, which was released in August last year, perhaps the first instance for any film industry in India, were heartbreaking and gruesome.

“It is one part of the Indian fraternity where proper legal process was followed, there were heartbreaking gruesome details that came out. As a woman in India today, I’m scared. This is again not just about fraternity,” Pednekar said.

“I’m scared when my younger cousin who lives with me in Mumbai goes to college and when she doesn’t come home till 11 pm, I get nervous. There’s deep conditioning of power. There’s a problem when front page news is only about violence done to women. This is not one off thing, this is a regular occurrence,” she added.

In the aftermath of an assault case on an actress involving actor Dileep in 2017, the Kerala government appointed a panel to study issues of sexual harassment and gender inequality.

The panel’s 233-page report exposed the power dynamics within the Malayalam film industry, revealing the multiple layers of exploitation faced by women artists.

On a query about the casting couch in the Hindi film industry, the 35-year-old actor – who earlier worked as an assistant casting director at Yash Raj Films – said though she has not personally faced it, she acknowledged the widespread nature of such incidents within the industry.

“Before I became an actor, I was casting in an institution that was clean and organised. My casting director Abhimanyu Ray would never cast a girl without me being present in the room. Now that’s the ecosystem in which I grew up.

“I was 17 when I started as a casting director in Yash Raj Films. I’ve no first-hand experience of it. But does that mean it doesn’t happen? No, it does because we’ve had many women who have dared to come out and speak about it. I would never negate a girl’s experience,” she said.

The actor also addressed the glaring gender pay gap that persists in Bollywood and said it happens across all industries globally.

“The CEO of any major conglomerate, if she is a woman, will undoubtedly earn a lower salary. The pay gap is even more in the film industry,” she said.

Pednekar recalled the time when she was paid way less than what her male counterpart earned for their project.

“I was offered 5 per cent of what my male counterpart got. I made this comparison because he and I had the same amount of hits. We were leading the film, and we also started at similar times, and yet he got 80 per cent more.

“I did that film because I didn’t have a choice. I wanted to create an ecosystem where I can empower myself and others,” she said.